Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
As my eyes opened the next morning, I was greeted with my new favorite sight. Theo slept on the pillow next to me, softly snoring in my direction. My hands reached out, tracing a line along his cheek. I could get used to this. It was rare to see Theo so relaxed. When we were at the office, he was always dealing with a million things at once. While he tried not to show it, I could tell how much the pressure was getting to him.
But these moments, when it was just the two of us? It was like we could block out the rest of the world, leaving our problems and concerns behind.
When the early morning light started to stream in through his window, Theo groaned, tossing an arm around my waist and pulling me to his side. He kissed the side of my hair. “What time is it?” he groaned, his voice scratchy from sleep.
“A little after six.”
Theo sat up, looking around the room as if he’d never seen it before. Then, he let out a surprised chuckle. “Shit, I can’t believe I slept in. ”
I groaned, ducking under his arm. “Only a true monster would think this counts as sleeping in.”
“When you usually get up at four, beautiful, it counts.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. “Are you hungry?”
A growl from my stomach answered his question. He chuckled, kissing me again before climbing out of the bed with invigorated energy. I leaned up to watch him, chuckling to myself as he winked at me over his shoulder. Who was this man, and what happened to the grouch who interviewed me weeks ago? If I’d known mind-blowing sex was the key to getting him to smile, I would have ripped off his clothes on day one.
I kept staring at him as he walked into the bathroom, unable to take my eyes off his perfectly sculpted muscles. Last night, I’d happily discovered that Theo slept shirtless, only liking to wear his boxers to bed.
As I heard the shower trickle on, I slipped back into his bed, snuggling further into Theo’s pillow. His smell still clung to the fabric. I was addicted to this man, needing to have him around me in some capacity. It was tempting to steal a bottle of his cologne, keeping that leather and pine scent with me at all times.
I must have dozed off, because when my eyes opened again, I was alone, and the sun was fully shining. Without him distracting me, I took the chance to look around his room. I’d been to Theo’s home a dozen times before, but I’d never made it back here. Last night, I was too focused Theo to take in the space. The room was bright due to the large windows, but almost all the design features were dark. The walls were lined in stained wood panels, and the bed frame was covered with thick, rich leather. The entire place was masculine and tailored, just like the man who owned it. It was a far cry from my cluttered, disorganized room, but I felt comfortable here, more comfortable than I expected.
Reluctantly, I climbed out of Theo’s bed, stretching out my aching body. Despite the limited amount of sleep we got last night, I felt more rested than I had in months. What the heck was Theo’s mattress made of? I needed to find out. Compared to his, my mattress felt like something from the Stone Age.
After grabbing a shirt from his drawer, I padded over to the bathroom, laughing when I caught my reflection. Yup, I looked well and thoroughly fucked, and I had no regrets. With it being the weekend, I’d hold onto this look for as long as possible.
As I stepped out of Theo’s bathroom and into the hallway, I studied the photographs that lined the walls. They were clearly stock photos; nothing was too personal about any of the images. How had I never noticed that before? His home reminded me a little of Devyn’s, how it was beautiful in its design but lacked any sort of personal touches.
When I moved out of my stepdad’s apartment, I’d claimed one of the Isadora rooms for myself. My grandfather had stipulated in his will that a wing would always be kept for his family, and I was more than happy to fulfill his request. The first thing I’d done was make the space my own, adding as much life and color to it as possible. I wondered what it looked like now. Had my mother stripped the walls, painting over the blue I’d spent hours debating, making it the same shade of beige as everything else?
I pushed the thought away as I stepped toward the kitchen, letting the sight of Theo shirtless distract me. Propping my hip against the wall, I watched as he worked, jumping between a couple of different pans on the stove. As he bent down to open the oven, a whiff of bacon reached me, and my stomach let out an embarrassingly loud groan.
He peeked over his shoulder, a smirk forming on his lips as I came closer. He stood up fully, rubbing his mouth when I stopped in front of him. Theo’s hand toyed with the hem of his shirt against my thighs. “Could get used to this sight, beautiful. It’s making me feel all sorts of things.”
“Put a pin in that. I’m starving,” I chuckled, lifting to kiss his cheek. “I need food before I can think of anything else. Consider this your warning: I am the worst when I’m hangry. You won’t even recognize me.”
Theo smacked my ass before he got back to work. “Haven’t seen a side of you I don’t like yet, Calla. Besides, after you’ve dealt with me at my worst, only fair I do the same.” He reached down and pulled out a tray of bacon. “But I’ll do my best to keep you fed, beautiful.”
“Good answer.” I kissed his bare shoulder. “What are your plans after breakfast? I can head home if you need to get some work done.”
“Nah, I left everything at the office. I’ll get to it on Monday.”
My thoughts spluttered to a sudden stop. What did he just say? It was official: last night, Theo really had murdered me with orgasms. It was the only explanation as to why my workaholic boss just casually mentioned he took the whole weekend off.
As my mind melted down, Theo plated our food and nodded toward the table in the corner of the room. As soon as we sat, Theo dove in, not noticing the strange expression on my face. I just sat there, anxiously analyzing his words. My thumb jumped to my mouth, and I started to chew on the cuticle, unable to take a bite with my stomach swirling with nerves. But after a couple of seconds, Theo reached out to me. “Calla, why are you upset?”
“I’m not upset,” I said quickly. “Just trying to figure out what's going on. Have you had a stroke? Is this a case of body snatchers? Because I can’t think of a single other reason why you, of all people, would take an entire weekend off.”
He put his utensils down, joining his hands together to look at me fully. “Calla, I want to spend the weekend with you. Just you. Not working, not worrying about clients.” He reached out and intertwined our fingers. “I want us to have a chance to spend time together without any distractions.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Good.” He smiled, lifting my hand to kiss my knuckles. “Then eat.”
As I polished off the last bite of my breakfast, I stood to place the plate in the sink. At least I did before Theo snatched it away. “I can do that.” He nodded to the couch. “Go relax. It’s your day off too.”
“No way.” I reached up to steal the plate back from him. “You cooked, I clean. I’m not going to let you do all the work around here.”
As I squeezed some soap on a sponge, Theo wrapped his arms around my waist. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to the crook of my neck. “I like taking care of you, Calla. And during the week, I don’t get to do it nearly enough.” I leaned back into him, soaking up all his warmth, so I didn’t even notice when he took the sponge out of my hand. “Now, get your ass on that couch and relax, and I’ll reward you later. ”
I chewed on my lower lip, looking at the sectional along the far wall. It did look comfortable. I glanced over my shoulder, “Are you sure? I really don’t mind helping.”
Theo shook his head, leaning in to softly kiss me. “Let me take care of you, beautiful.”
Okay, this relaxed, happy Theo was breaking my brain. Every moment I spent with him, I could feel myself falling for him a little bit more. It was fast—too fast to be thinking this way. We’d only started seeing each other a couple of days ago, and I was already falling hard, but it was useless to try and fight it. Every moment I spent with Theo, he laid a little more claim to my heart.
Before I could spiral completely, I moved over to the sectional couch, sinking into the plush cushions. It looked so familiar, but it took me a minute to realize it was the same brand as the one I’d picked out for his office—the one he spent days complaining about. Jackass . I knew he loved that thing.
Reaching for the remote, I scanned through his selection of apps, hating how few he had. I made an executive decision and downloaded Netflix, typing in my account info. Scrolling through the first row of shows, I mentally crossed out all the ones I’d watched before. Hmm, documentary? No way in hell. But as I reached the last group, my eyes widened in excitement.
“Score,” I whispered as Theo lowered himself into the spot next to me, pulling my legs into his lap. My head fell back as his thumbs dug into my calves.
He shook his head when my show loaded, and a bunch of housewives instantly started screaming at each other. “I can’t believe you watch this crap.”
“How dare you, sir,” I teased. “They are the new American masterpieces. ”
“No wonder we’re a nation in decline.”
“Have you ever watched it before?”
He snorted. “No. I don’t waste my time watching a lot of television, but if I do, it’s not for mindless dribble.”
“Then you can’t talk.” I smirked at him. “If you’re going to form a strong opinion about my taste in tv shows, then you have to have first-hand experience.” I leaned into his side, letting his warmth surround me. It felt right, being in his arms like this. For so long, I’d been searching for a place I belonged, and nothing had ever felt like this, like I could live a thousand years, and I’d never feel more at peace than when Theo held me. “Give it a chance.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “For me?”
“Devious tactic,” Theo groaned, kissing the top of my head. “But fine. I can’t bring myself to say no to you, beautiful.” He nodded to the television. “Let the torture commence.”